A LANDLORD has moved to allay residents' fears after he moved his pub into their quiet street.

Popular pub the Talking Heads will be moving from its current location in Portswood Road as the property will be turned into flats.

It will relocate to the old venue of the Maple Leaf in the Polygon, Southampton as reported in yesterday’s Daily Echo, and will continue to hold live music events.

However, residents have voiced dismay at the potential noise this will cause.

The current licence for the Maple Leaf has been transferred to the Talking Heads, and only the police are able to object to it, not the residents themselves.

Jackie Parkinson, who lives in a flat in the Polygon and said: “We have only just found out and it is a bit of a shock because there is going to be late night music."

“It is not the venue itself because I don’t think we will hear much from inside, but we are worried about the noise at night as people will have to come up Polygon road to get there.”

Conservative councillor John Inglis also lives in the Polygon and said: “The Maple Leaf was a simple private club and it was never particularly big and that was never really a problem.

“This is a totally different type of place that hardly fits into a little domestic street, the problem will be people coming and going on a relatively quiet road. There is not enough room for two cars to pass."

“The Maple Leaf was a quiet watering hole but if it had been a very active pub I would not have bought my property.”

The licence allows for the new venue to play live music and serve alcohol until 11.30pm, and 10.30pm on Sundays.

But Guy Benfield, the pub’s sole owner said: “We will be running to the licence as it is now. We are recommending that if people bring cars they park in the two car parks in the Mayflower and in Brunswick Place. We are not promoting car use.

“We ask people to leave quietly and we will do everything we can. I don't see why people would be any noisier than at the Mayflower or any of the restaurants in that area."

“This place was set up as a music venue 30 years ago and has been there for 30 years - we are working very hard to keep live music in Southampton and provide what we believe will be the best venue in the south and bring music lovers rather than just students to Southampton.”